1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a PC card, a PC card housing, and PC card mounting configuration.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cards that house printed circuit boards (PCB) are commonly known as PC cards (henceforth, simply referred to as “cards”) and in general, with wireless communication, a plurality of PC cards is mounted such that removal is also possible. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a conventional card mounting configuration, viewed from a rear of a device. As illustrated in FIG. 11, in the conventional card mounting configuration, twelve cards 2 are vertically mounted in a single, horizontal row in a housing 1. In the figure, a storage space 3 for each card 2 is indicated by a dotted reference line. However, in actuality there is no partition.
For the convenience of explanation, of the storage spaces 3, two adjacent ones shall be referred to as 3a and 3b, wherein 3a is a first storage space and 3b is a second storage space. The first storage space 3a and the second storage space 3b are arranged in alternating positions six times. An external line connector 4 is for connection to an external device via cable (not shown in the drawing). The external line connector 4 is provided and accessible on a back panel of the device. At a top and a bottom of each storage space 3, one connector is provided, i.e., each storage space 3 is provided with two connectors.
As for connectors of the first storage space 3a, a first upper external line connector shall be 4a and a first lower line connector, 4b. Furthermore, in the same manner, for the second storage space 3b, a second upper external line connector shall be 4c and a second lower external line connector shall be 4d. The following constraints exist with the arrangement of the present external line connectors 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d. 
A distance X between a center of the first lower external line connector 4b (the first upper external line connector 4a) and a center of the second lower external connector 4d (the second upper external line connector 4c), a distance Y between a center of the second upper external line connector 4c and that of the first lower connector 4b, as well as a distance Z between a center of the first lower connector 4b (the first upper connector 4a) and a center of the second lower connector 4d (the second upper connector 4c) are configured for easy cable connection by the user. As illustrated in FIG. 11, in the case that the external line connector 4 arrangement is staggered, the device becomes smaller.
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a conventional card structure, and a connection between the card and external line connectors. Conventional cards 2 have a wiring pattern, as shown in FIG. 12, with an ejector 6 for removing cards from and mounting cards into the housing 1 and a band-like support to prevent card distortion, both of which are attached to a printed circuit board (PCB) 5 that includes a mounted electrical component. Two connection terminals 8a, 8b for connections to the external line connectors 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d are installed on a rear end of the PCB 5.
The cards 2 mounted into the first storage space 3a of the housing 1 and the second storage space 3b have the same structure. Hence, the height of the connection terminals 8a, 8b can not be aligned to the heights of the upper and lower external line connectors 4a, 4b of the first storage space 3a and to those of the second storage space 3b, i.e., connection terminals 8a, 8b can not be directly connected to the upper and lower external line connectors 4a, 4b of the first storage space 3a and to the upper and lower external line connectors 4c, 4d of the second storage space 3b. 
Therefore, with conventional devices, cables 9a, 9b are used for a connection between the connection terminals 8a, 8b and the external line connectors 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d. In FIG. 12, when a card 2 is mounted in the first storage space 3a or in the second storage space 3b, the respective cables 9a, 9b are each indicated by both a solid and a dotted line.
FIG. 13 depicts a portion of a bottom panel 11 of the conventional housing. As shown in FIG. 13, the housing 1 has a U-shaped resin rail 10 fixed to a top-side of the bottom panel 11 and to an under-side of a top panel (not shown). The present rail 10 runs from a front opening of the housing 1 back to the back panel and guides the card 2 (indicated in FIG. 13 by a dotted line) as the card 2 is inserted into the storage space 3.
There are structures that provide direct connection of a card connection terminal and an external line connector of a housing without use of cables, e.g., a shelf of a plug-in sheet, wherein a back board equipped with a back board connector (formed by a contact pin that pierces both sides of a circuit board) and a PCB, both of which include a connection sheet that includes a sheet connector and an external line connector on each end, wherein the sheet connector is inserted into one side of the back board connector and a connection with the external cable via external line connector is made. Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. S63-43399 is an example for reference.
Further, there are also devices that include a plurality of guide rails in a housing to guide insertion of a PCB on two sides. A connector on an end of a PCB is connected to a respective connector of a mother board located in a bottom of the housing. Subsequently, an electronic component is connected to an external cable that is connected to each PCB via an external line connector. A PCB mounting configuration follows for reference. On both sides of a bottom panel is a first side panel for attachment to a housing and a second side panel including parallel guides on a front end of the bottom panel that are integrated by a P-shaped PCB bracket. One side of the PCB is fixed to a bottom plate of the bracket and another side of the PCB is connected and fixed to the external line connector. The PCB is inserted into the housing by introducing a guide portion of the bracket and another side of the PCB to the guide rails, wherein the P-shaped bracket is fixed to the first side panel of the housing. Japanese Utility Model Publication No S58-51482 is an example for reference.
With conventional cable connection configurations, the connection between the connection terminal of the card and the external line connector of the housing via cable only allows a small space of approximately 7 centimeters (cm) between the rear end of the card and back panel of the housing for an operator to conduct required cable connections. For every one card, two cables are required and as such in a 12-card mounted device at least twenty-four cables must be wired and fit into the small space without interfering with each other. As a result, tremendous installation time is required.
Moreover, with the aforementioned cable connection configuration, each PCB must be equipped with an ejector and a band-like support to prevent distortion. Hence, a margin of error in the installation position of PCB ejectors and distortion preventing supports substantially increases, thereby preventing the realization of a high quality product at a low cost.
Furthermore, with the conventional card mounting configuration, a plurality of cards is aligned in a single horizontal row and as such a space between adjacent cards is minimal. As a result, during operation of the device, an internal temperature of the device is prone to rise. Another disadvantage lies with a size of the device. Due to rails fixed to a top panel and a bottom panel of a housing of the device, a distance between the top and bottom panels must, in addition to a height of the card, compensate for a thickness of the upper and lower rails, thereby limiting a minimum size of the device.